Well, our patience paid off. After a windy and nearly dolphin-less week, we had a great day. We saw bottlenose dolphins very early and I was able to collect quite a few dorsal fin photographs.  Later in the afternoon it was a scattered group of at least 16 spotted dolphins. In the mix were: Finn (#09), Romeo (#10), Juliette (#12) and her calf (who will likely be given ID#93), Tina (#14), Swoosh (#36) and her male calf, Lone Star (#56), un-named #25 (and her calf), 84, 91 and 92. Perhaps most exciting, however, was the very young calf who swam quickly through the group. I hope that I can ID the mother when I review the video, but I did note what appeared to be fetal folds on the calf! I have never observed a calf this young, under water, in Bimini before!

A couple of days off, then the start of a new “dolphin week” on Sunday,

Saturday’s dolphin trip was unexpected, but welcomed! We saw dolphins early (17:03) and the group of four became six and then nine. Lumpy (#17) and un-named #75, both adult males, were in the group. I also suspect that un-named #24 was present, but I’ll have to confirm when reviewing video. There was a single male calf in the group that had some shallow scratches and a very small injury to its lower jaw. It was a short swim, but I’ll take what I can get! 

Sunday’s dolphin trip was a bit rocky and with the heavy cloud cover it was a challenge to see the dolphins from the boat. But, luckily, they found us! Rushing to the boat we saw a group of three Atlantic spotted dolphins – two adults and one calf. The MVA and I didn’t get a chance to get in the water, but if we had, we would have seen a quick, close glimpse of the dolphins followed by a hammerhead shark – followed by a passing manta ray – all in under 3 minutes! A short time later, we came upon Nemo (#76) and a young juvenile. There was a bit of aerial behavior and surfing in the swells. Unfortunately, with sunset threatening, it was time to head back to the dock. Fortunately, another dolphin trip is scheduled for tomorrow! 

Until then,

Kel

Start the new year with a DCP Eco-Tour in Roatan, Honduras!

Join DCP from 16 - 23 January 2010 at the Roatan Institute for Exploration. You can get up close & personal with bottlenose dolphins and DCP's research. $1,765 includes lodging, meals, dolphin interactions and more!

For full details, click here. We hope to see you soon!

For all those i-phone users, or anyone using a mobile device to access the internet, DCP has now created a mobile website at http://m.dolphincommunicationproject.org Check us out!

Today’s dolphin trip was hot and calm – just the way I like it! Not far from shore, we saw a group of about 7 bottlenose dolphins. They were very uninterested in the boat, so we had our quick glimpse and continued in search of Atlantic spotted dolphins. We had to wait a little while, but then, we saw them... 

It was a group of four dolphins, but I only recognized one. It is a young female who was first observed on 9 June. Here, in a picture taken on 9 June, you can see the major scarring to her dorsal fin. I’ll tentatively add her to the catalog, but she won’t officially be in until I get a clearer sense of what the final scar will look like. I definitely added to our underwater video and acoustic data for this one though! She was full of whistles.... 

Once we were back on the boat, we quickly came upon a mating ball of Atlantic spotteds. In this group were Romeo (#10) and Billy (#64). We didn’t want to interrupt their activities, so we continued on our way – thinking that we had our dolphin fill for the day. But, no! Soon there was a group including mother calf pairs. Trudy (#57) and un-named #25 were definitely there with their calves, but I also suspect that Juliette (#12) and her calf were there. And, we got a glimpse of Leslie (#80) and Tilly (#87) as they rode the bow. It was a great day! 

Until next time,

Kel

DCP just joined Twitter! You can follow us at twitter/dolphincommu.

We've also added a cool widget to the sidebar of the DCP website which will display our Tweets!

DCP recently received mention by a Greener Living Today contributor. Check out the note here.

Wednesday’s boat trip was about as quick and easy as they come. We headed out with Bimini Undersea at about 1600. At 1705, we had our first of two sightings. White Blotch (#29) and un-named #43 were both riding the bow with two other adults and a young juvenile. I’m hoping I got some video footage, albeit it brief, of the juvenile who I suspect is White Blotch’s 2004 calf. She’ll be turning 5 years old later this summer and shouldn’t have too much more time with mom. This group was moving, so we headed to some splashes in the distance. The only ID I was able to make from the boat was Tilly (#87). I recorded some of Tilly under water, but the encounter was dominated by two young, male juveniles. These guys only had a few faint spots, but one had a relatively fresh injury to his peduncle (shark?). It will be very interesting to review this video! 

Tired and happy, we headed back to shore. I’m hoping for another dolphin trip on Saturday! 

Until then,

Kel

Thursday morning, Kel described this past winter’s Bimini manatee. We learned about the steps that were taken in the community and between the US and the Bahamas. We also watched a video of the capture day. We are having a hard time imagining a 1200 pound animal on the bow of our research bow! During photo-ID we confirmed Split Jaw (#22), Swoosh (#36), Niecey (#48), Nemo (#76), Leslie (#80), un-named #43 and 84.

This afternoon’s boat trip was a break from dolphins. It was our first time on the boat early in the afternoon and the sun is much stronger. The water was still calm and clear and we saw a sea turtle on the way to our snorkel site. Once we arrived at “Triangle Rocks,” there were only a couple of sharks. We were a quite apprehensive at first, but overall it was a great experience observing Caribbean reef sharks. Our captain entered the water to assess their behavior and we threw some small fish heads. Once we entered the water with our snorkel gear, we saw as many as 6 different sharks, ranging from 4 – 6 feet. Kel threw in the last snapper head (away from us) and we were able to watch the fish go after the head and the increase in activity from the sharks. Once we back on board, our captain threw large dolphin (fish) carcasses in the water and we were able to watch as many more sharks came into the area and went after the fish.

After our shark observations, we had a surprise trip to “Honeymoon Harbor.” The water was so shallow, clear and warm that it felt like we were swimming in a pool. The big draw here is the southern sting rays that are habituated to human presence and feeding. We observed 3-4 different rays, including a large ray (roughly 3 feet long, not including the tail). It was a great day, seeing a different side of Bimini’s marine ecosystem (and eco-tourism).

Tomorrow we wrap up with final photo-ID work and data wrap up. We’re sad to be leaving Bimini, but we’ve all had a good time. A big thank you to everyone who has been keeping tabs on us through our field reports...and of course, thank you to our captain, Al, Kel, Dr. Dudzinski and DCP!

-The SHU Crew